BILL NUMBER: SB 596 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 7, 1999
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 5, 1999
INTRODUCED BY Senator Alpert
(Principal coauthor: Senator Costa)
FEBRUARY 23, 1999
An act to add Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 11759.20) to Part
1 of Division 10.5 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to
health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 596, as amended, Alpert. California Volunteer Mentor
Partnership Act.
Existing law requires the State Department of Alcohol and Drug
Programs within the California Health and Human Services Agency to
perform various duties in administering programs for the prevention
and treatment of alcohol and drug abuse.
This bill would enact the California Volunteer Mentor Partnership
Act, under which the State Department of Alcohol and Drug
Programs California Health and Human Services Agency
would be the lead agency in support of the Governor's
Policy Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse to promote
volunteer mentor programs through direct implementation or through
contracts with community-based organizations, school districts,
the private sector and nonprofit organizations or in
cooperation with other state agencies. The bill would require the
Governor's Policy Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse
California Health and Human Services Agency, in
collaboration with other state agencies and departments to
report to the Legislature, on or before February 1, 2000
2001 , on the feasibility of consolidating the
grant applications and processes used by individual state agencies
funding mentor reviews programs .
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 11759.20) is added
to Part 1 of Division 10.5 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
CHAPTER 6. CALIFORNIA VOLUNTEER MENTOR PARTNERSHIP ACT
11759.20. This chapter shall be know and may be cited as the
California Volunteer Mentor Partnership Act.
11759.21. (a) The Legislature finds that California's children
are growing up under conditions of great stress that are resulting in
devastating effects on their development and well-being. Structural
changes in society, including the breakdown in the traditional
family and erosion of neighborhood community support networks, have
taken a toll on their welfare and self-esteem
, self-esteem, and academic achievement . While youth
struggle with many difficulties, four risk factors stand out:
academic failure, substance abuse, involvement in the criminal
justice system, and teen pregnancy. To address these challenges, the
State of California recognizes quality mentoring as a critical
prevention strategy, not as a panacea for the aforementioned
problems, but as a cost-effective method of assisting today's at-risk
youth to become productive, contributing members of society.
Research finds that without caring, older, wiser individuals
to provide support, counsel, and role modeling, young people are
without the caring support, counsel, and role modeling
of more experienced individuals or exposure to natural support
networks, young people are much more vulnerable to the
destructive forces of apathy, abuse, and neglect. As the
devastation of adult neglect has become visible we
acknowledge the increasing numbers of children who do not have the
benefit of positive relationships , there has been an
increasing recognition of mentoring, a service
the value of mentoring, an activity that connects a caring
, older, wiser and more experienced
person with a young person in need of attention and support.
During an era of limited support and in need of a
mentor-rich environment that would expand the world of positive adult
contacts for youth in their natural environments. As a way to
maximize public resources, mentoring is both efficient and
effective, relying on volunteers as the core service providers to
create collateral improvements in the lives of youth. The public
investment in the prevention strategy of mentoring has inspired
significant private support at the local level.
(b) The complexities of supporting mentoring organizations
requires the coordinated and sustained support of many private and
public sector organizations to ensure that their services are
available to all young persons who wish to have a mentor. To the
maximum extent feasible, quality mentor services should be available
in communities throughout California sufficient to meet the needs of
each at-risk young person. It is the intent of the legislature and
the purpose of this division chapter to
foster a partnership between the public and private sector for the
long-term support to quality mentor programs.
(c) Mentoring California's youth has been carried on by thousands
of dedicated volunteers through local mentor organizations and with
the very significant contributions of the business community in both
time and money. State and local government agencies also operate
mentor programs. However, the need far outweighs the current
resources. The valuable potential services of many caring ,
older, wiser individuals adults and older youth
continue to go untapped while the waiting list of children in need
continues to grow.
11759.22. (a) It is the goal of the Legislature that every young
person in California shall have access to a quality mentor upon
request. This shall be accomplished by sustaining or growing the
state's resources under the auspices of the California Volunteer
Mentor Partnership Act, to the extent those resources are available.
The Legislature recognizes the efforts of state departments who have
supported local mentor programs under the California Mentor
Initiative, including the State Department of Alcohol and Drug
Programs, the California Conservation Corps, the Department of the
Youth Authority, the Commission on Improving Life Through Service,
the Department of Community Services and Development, the State
Department of Education, the State Department of Health Services, the
Department of Justice, the Secretary for Education, and the Office
of Criminal Justice Planning. This base of support shall be
sustained or increased predicated upon the performance outcomes in
successfully addressing the four risk factors.
(b) It is also the goal of the Legislature that consideration be
directed towards identifying opportunities for increased private
sector investment in the support and expansion of mentoring.
11759.23. As used in this chapter:
(a) "Agency" means the California Health and Human Services
Agency.
(b) "At-risk youth" means an individual under 18 years of
age whose environment increases their chance of academic failure,
alcohol and other drug use, involvement in the criminal justice
system, or teen pregnancy.
(b)
(c) "Mentoring" means a relationship over a
prolonged period of time between two or more people where older,
wiser, more experienced individuals provide constant, as needed
support, guidance, and concrete help to younger at-risk persons as
they go through life. time in which caring and
concerned adults and older youth provide support, guidance, and help
to younger at-risk persons as they go through life.
(d) "Mentor-rich environments" are environments that create many
opportunities for young people to interact with an array of caring
adults and where youth feel respected, connection, and affirmed.
11759.24. (a) The Legislature finds that direct mentor services,
and the support for those services, are provided by hundreds of
public and private, state, and local organizations. It also finds a
continuing need for effective coordination of these efforts in a
manner that will maximize benefit to local programs and,
consequently, to the youth who rely on their support.
(b) The Governor's Policy Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse shall
continue in existence and shall continue to be the lead coordinating
body within state government on drug and alcohol policy, and shall
continue the Prevention Partnership subcommittee. The Prevention
Partnership subcommittee shall provide oversight and counsel to the
California Mentor Initiative and shall ensure a coherent coordination
of public sector efforts to enhance quality mentoring. Because of
the critical role of mentor programs, the subcommittee shall include,
but not be limited to, one representative from Friday Night Live,
one representative from a community-based mentor program which
primarily offers one-to-one mentor-mentee matches, one representative
from an academic mentor program, and a representative from the
California Mentor Foundation. The role of the California Mentor
Foundation shall be to maximize the participation and support of the
business community in California for the expansion of mentoring. By
February 1, 2000, the Governor's Policy Council on Drug and Alcohol
Abuse shall report to the Legislature on the feasibility of
consolidating the grant applications and processes used by individual
state agencies funding mentor programs.
11759.25. The Governor shall designate the State Department of
Alcohol and Drug Programs to continue to act as the lead agency in
the support of the Governor's Policy Council on Drug and Alcohol
Abuse. In support of the Prevention Partnership subcommittee, the
State Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs shall promote the
following through direct implementation or through contracts with
qualified private sector and nonprofit organizations, or in
cooperation with other state agencies:
(b) The California Health and Human Services Agency shall be the
lead coordinating body within state government and shall provide
guidance and assistance to departments who receive state funds for
mentoring programs. The agency shall, with the assistance of the
Secretary of Education, Department of Education, Office of Criminal
Justice Planning, and Attorney General, establish collaborative
arrangements and coordinating functions among and between these
offices and departments with the goals to maximize resources, share
best practices, and increase opportunities for youth.
(c) On or before February 1, 2001, the agency shall report to the
Legislature on the feasibility of consolidating the grant
applications and processes used by individual state agencies that
fund mentor programs.
11759.25. The Governor shall designate the California Health and
Human Services Agency as the lead agency in state government to
nurture and support, until it is no longer necessary, a public and
private partnership the goal of which is to advance and increase the
positive role of mentoring for young persons. The agency shall
promote the following through direct implementation or through
contracts with qualified community-based organizations, school
districts, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector or in
cooperation with other state agencies:
(a) The adoption of quality assurance standards by school- and
community-based mentor programs.
(b) The provision of mentor program technical assistance.
(c) The provision of a mentor program clearinghouse and library
service.
(d) The preparation and periodic updating of a statewide directory
of mentor program services.
(e) The provision of mentor program referrals to the general
public.
(f) The coordination of the state employee mentor recruitment
campaign.
(g) The development of a coordinated and coherent reporting form
and requirements.
(h) (1) In order to obtain funding appropriated by the
Legislature, mentor programs shall have adopted the California Mentor
Initiative Quality Assurance Standards and shall provide data
regarding mentee outcomes as requested by the state funding agencies
consistent with subdivision (g).
(2) Adopted in 1997, the Quality Assurance Standards can
be found in Alcohol and Drug Publication Number can be
found in the State Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs
Publication Number 99-1121. The requirements of these
standards are summarized as follows:
(A) A statement of purpose and a long-range plan.
(B) A recruitment plan for both mentors and mentees.
(C) An orientation for mentors and mentees.
(D) Eligibility screening for mentors and mentees.
(E) A readiness and training curriculum for all mentors and
mentees.
(F) A strategy that matches the provider program's purpose.
(G) A monitoring program that includes ongoing assessment.
(H) A support, recognition, and retention component, including
ongoing peer support, training, and development.
(I) Closure steps that include confidential exit interviews.
(J) An evaluation process based on an outcome analysis of the
mentor program, program criteria, and statement of purpose.
(i) (1) The Governor's Policy Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse
(i) (1) The California Health and Human Services Agency
shall report annually, no later than March 1, to the Senate Select
Committee on Family, Child, and Youth Development and the Senate and
Assembly Committees on Education. The report shall address both of
the following:
(A) The progress of and outcomes achieved by the California
Volunteer Mentor Partnership Act.
(B) The progress in achieving private sector involvement in the
support of the California Mentor Initiative and mentor programs.
(2) State agencies participating in the funding of mentor programs
shall provide data and cooperate with the State Department
of Alcohol and Drug Programs in the agency in
the development of the report.
11759.26. The Governor's Policy Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse
shall
11759.26. The agency shall support, promote and
periodically update as needed, standards that serve to ensure that
mentor programs represent the highest standard of quality, safety,
and performance. The quality assurance standards adopted in 1997 by
the California Mentor Coalition under the auspices of the California
Mentor Initiative are the standards in use today by the state
department investors. All state funded quality mentor programs and
those funded by the state with federal funds shall adopt the quality
assurance standards.
11759.27. The Governor's Policy Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse
shall
11759.27. The agency, along with its public and private partners,
shall promote a coherent strategy for directing public support
for mentor programs. Consideration shall be given to the following
in regards to the public effort:
(a) The extent of existing publicly funded services for support of
mentor programs within the state, and within each area of the state,
including the numbers and types of persons receiving services.
(b) The extent of service needs of mentor programs and the gap
between existing public and private resources available to meet those
needs.
(c) The priorities for program development or expansion which
shall take into consideration the specific objectives of programs to
be developed, amount and sources of funding, timing, and
organizations responsible for implementation.